Nine Perfect Strangers

She's been the subject of countless articles,

including that buzzy profile in The New Yorker.

She was the inspiration for Frances Welty's

New York Times bestselling novel,

Nine Perfect Strangers.

It is our pleasure to introduce a woman

whose name has become synonymous with the cutting edge

of psychedelic therapy.

- Please, welcome... -

...to the Bloomberg Disruptors Conference,

Masha Dmitrichenko.

You forgot to mention, she is also the subject

of multiple federal investigations.

Let's talk drugs, shall we?

So, this family here was able to connect with their dead son

through a shared hallucination.

It allowed them to work through the trauma of his death in real time.

This is an extraordinary breakthrough,

but it is only the beginning.

In concert with my friends in Silicon Valley,

I've developed a new proprietary psychedelic delivery system.

So, with this groundbreaking device, and with the right prompts,

patients can revisit specific formative memories.

And in this highly neuroplastic state,

they can experience these memories as if for the first time.

When will this product be available to the public?

Well, we're in our next major round of financing,

and after that, we will proceed to clinical trials.

So, you haven't tested it yet?

I have tested it on rats, and myself.

- -

In The New Yorker, they wrote that you were experimenting

with these drugs

to bring your dead daughter back to life.

Is that true?

Yes, I was connecting with my late daughter

and it was extremely transformative for me.

- It changed my life. - Are you still seeing her?

No. No, I am not.

We have time for a few questions.

- Uh, yes, you in the back. - Miss Dmitrichenko.

Could you tell us how you first learned

about these innovative therapies?

Years ago, I found a small clinic in Bavaria

that dealt with, uh, people who were in desperate situations.

At that clinic, there was a doctor. She was very kind.

And I owe my career to her.

And my life.

- - Masha?

- Martin. - It's good to see you.

I can't believe you came all the way from Germany

for this dog-and-pony show.

You know her offer still stands, yeah?

So, she's always happy to host your practice,

should you ever need a new home base. And even if you don't...

Masha Dmitrichenko? You've been served.

Third one this month.

At this rate, I'll be broke.

We don't have cell service at Zauberwald.

We do not have navigable roads.

It's really off-limits.

There's not gonna be a person like this asking questions

or something giving you letters.

Please, just consider it. She'd be really happy to see you.

I would like to see her, too.

["MINISTRY" BY DANGER MOUSE AND KAREN O PLAYING]

# Light on the street, keep me blind #

# Sand at my feet, you're running me out of town #

# Out of my mind #

# Thousands of leaves, they bury me #

# Under her eyes #

# Mild breeze is telling me #

# It's not my time #

# She's not mine #

# So, day by day, I'll turn my dreams #

# Into a ministry, a ministry, a ministry #

# Of her love #

# Into a ministry, a ministry, a ministry #

# Of her love #

Not there, Helmut.

Helmut, honestly, you have no aesthetic sense whatsoever.

- It's a mystery to me. - # I'm lost in the sea #

I don't think that's gonna be enough. We need more linen.

We have so many guests coming.

What happened to enjoying your retirement?

It's the first day of your new retreat, it has to be perfect.

- Helmut, that's not... -

- ...at all what I asked you to do. - Yeah.

You're not listening! It's a problem.

We have a problem.

Quite a haul today.

The altitude can make the dosages imprecise,

and sometimes the medication doesn't always sustain in the bloodstream.

- Mm. - So, best to have a surplus.

We'll test their oxygen levels against their resting metabolics.

Excellent.

And we can adjust their dosages accordingly.

Mm-hmm.

Maybe we should also do their bloodwork again upon their arrival.

Or at least measure their systolic and diastolic pressures,

just to be safe.

Masha!

I would at least need that data as a baseline.

You make it sound so fun.

I make it sound like a science. That is what it is.

Until it isn't.

You seem very tense, Martin.

Is there something you want to say to me?

- Well, with full respect... - Mm.

...you were invited here to Zauberwald

to bring your art and your passion,

both of which are beyond reproach.

- And what do you bring? - Discipline.

You're a very nervous little fellow.

- Here we go. - Here we go where?

When you get nervous, you like to deflect,

intoxicate with a smile, a smell, or an accent,

that you can willingly lose, by the way,

I guess depending on whether Putin offends your consumer base or not.

We have been put in the sandbox to play together,

so we can play nice or not.

No improv with the dosage.

No dosing without consent.

No dosing yourself while charged with supervision,

and no locking people up.

Oh.

- Hm? - Yes.

Yes, sir.

There must be boundaries, I insist on it.

And I must obey.

Uh, I will just... I will... I...

I will just attend to the...

Of course, attend to all of it.

##

- - Danke schoen.

Danke schoen. Super.

Super.

##

...hee-hoo!

Oh, yeah. You guys hear that?

Now, that is what people come to the Alps for.

Uh, we really just come here for the challenging trails.

Oh, I hear you.

I started off in Trieste.

Five weeks with just a backpack eating whatever I could find.

Felt primal, you know, prehistoric like Ötzi.

The craft website?

No, like the Iceman.

The 5,000-year-old body they found up here in the glaciers.

The glaciers are melting.

Yeah. Shitty deal.

- Maybe they'll find more bodies. - So, where do you go next?

Well, you know, I was looking for a rustic cabin up in the mountains.

- And I think I found one. -

- - Herr Sharpe?

I come from Zauberwald.

May I assist you with your luggage?

Last year's Mercedes. Pretty rustic.

Uh... yeah, it's just the one bag, actually.

Thank you.

- Zauberwald. -

- Well, well. - Yeah, I, uh, I just have

to go visit somebody first, and then I'll be back on my adventures.

It once was a famous sanitarium, you know?

Oh, I... I thought it was a fancy hotel.

I had a relative who died there.

Auf Wiedersehen.

- - Thank you.

Ooh.

Lavender. Lovely.

Oh! Jesus.

It's beautiful.

The air up here is so fresh.

Oh, I'm sorry. Do you not speak English?

Everybody speaks English.

Oh.

- -

Well...

at least we'll have nice, clean lungs before we plummet to our deaths.

Wouldn't be the worst thing that ever happened to me.

Or to you, I bet.

Do we know each other?

Shit. I'm so sorry.

I'll just, uh... oh, let me just... I'll get out...

Oh shit, no, no, no. No.

No, no, no, no, no! Hello!

Hello!